JOG Stoneways Marine Cowes-Poole (aka plan B) Race Weekend
by Cat Platts 17 Sep 2025 14:34 BST
13-14 September 2025
Sometimes, the weather simply refuses to play ball. With forecasts of near-gale force winds and spring tides making the Needles Channel and Hurst Narrows untenable, JOG made the prudent call to keep racing "in-Solent" for the Stoneways Marine Cowes-Poole Race Weekend.
Plan B delivered two days of tactical, hard-fought racing, and more than enough action to test crews across the fleet.
Saturday: 49 Tacks to Hampstead
Dawn broke with thunder, squalls and torrential rain that persuaded some to stay ashore, but by start time sunshine and rainbows over the mainland promised a better day. Race Officer Martin Banfield sent the fleet on a short-tacking beat from Gurnard up the Island shore to Hampstead Ledge buoy - Scream 2 counted 41 tacks, while for the heavier Overlord the leg was a punishing grind.
From there, a spinnaker run down the Eastern Solent gave some respite - though gusts funnelling between Gurnard and Lepe kept crews on their toes. As Martin described, "Once again, boats taking the inshore line at the finish stole places with the back eddy, snatching last-minute gains from those further north."
Among those battling through were Tony White and Dave Coles on Mzungu! - the only Double-Handed entry. Their account captured the spirit of the day: "Short-tacking along the island shore took 49 tacks, and by the first mark even He-Who-Rowed-the-Atlantic-Last-Year was cream crackered. We then set the kite for a sleigh-ride east, I clicked on the auto-pilot and positioned to the pit to help Dave with the drop; I unclutched the halyard.....don't know how or why, only for the autopilot to give up mid-drop. The spinnaker wallpapered itself across the jib and mainsail, with both of us swearing at another pilot! Somehow we got it down, stuffed it in the hatch, reefed the main and carried on. It was exhausting, but just finishing felt like a win."
Out of 12 starters in IRC 2, only half finished, underlining the attrition of the day. Mzungu! came home fifth in class and secured the Double-Handed prize.
Ashore, the Island Sailing Club hosted the Stoneways prize-giving, where sponsor representative, and JOG racer, George Beevor presented wine prizes and a special award to William Holden of Adelie, the Generation JOG winner.
Saturday Results:
IRC 1
1st White Majic (Lesley Hunt)
2nd Scream 2 (Stuart Lawrence)
3rd Dusty P (Richard Patrick)
IRC 2
1st Bellino (Rob Craigie)
2nd Sanity (Carol Lo)
3rd Exuberant (Rob Hillman)
IRC 3
1st Jetpack (Mark Brown)
2nd Karaboudjan (Pete McConnell & Aaron Goodman-Simpson)
3rd Frank 4(Olly & Sam Love, protest pending)
IRC 4
1st With Alacrity (Chris Choules)
2nd Adelie (Rob Salter)
3rd Sailfish (Oli Hawkins)
Double Handed
Mzungu! (Tony White & Dave Coles)
Generation JOG
William Holden (Adelie)
Sunday: Light Start, Building Finish
Sunday dawned calmer than expected - just 6 knots from the north-east at the Bramble start line, instead of the 25-knot southerly forecast. The Race Officers set a tight central and eastern Solent course, taking the fleet to Browndown, East Bramble and across the banks before a code-sail reach to the finish.
By late morning, the southerly was filling in, bringing gusts out of the Medina and quick tactical changes. Once again, the inshore route paid, and by 13:00 all boats were back alongside before the promised rain swept in.
Class 4 produced the closest finish of the weekend: Adelie pipped Sailfish to second by just 10 seconds on corrected time.
Sunday Results:
IRC 1
1st Scream 2 (Stuart Lawrence)
2nd White Majic (Lesley Hunt)
3rd Dusty P (Richard Patrick)
IRC 2
1st Bellino (Rob Craigie)
2nd Hot Rats (Robbie & Lis Robinson)
3rd Mzungu! (Tony White)
IRC 3
1st Javelin (Richard Newsom)
2nd Jetpack (Mark Brown)
3rd Frank 4 (Olly & Sam Love)
IRC 4
1st With Alacrity (Chris Choules)
2nd Adelie (Rob Salter)
3rd Sailfish (Oli Hawkins)
Double Handed
Mzungu! (Tony White & Dave Coles)
Though the fleet didn't make it to Poole, "Plan B" proved every bit as challenging.
"Racing is supposed to be fun - and JOG's flexibility means we can still put on competitive, tactical racing when conditions outside the Solent are untenable. The weekend gave us exactly that, with testing winds, spring tides, and plenty of place-changing to keep crews on their toes." Martin Banfield, JOG Sailing Secretary.
There's still time for some more action-packed autumn sailing. JOG is looking forward to the Henri-Lloyd Cowes-Lymington race weekend on 27-28 September — entries are open, so don't miss out. Sailing Instructions here. JOG looks forward to the Henri-Lloyd Cowes-Lymington race weekend on 27-28 September, where entries remain open. Check out the Sailing Instructions here.